


Carnival Ride

by gravitation (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Carnival, Circus, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 10:47:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/gravitation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's summer of 2013 and Niall, Liam, and Harry are perpetually bored. But with the biggest and most popular circus and carnival coming to town, how can it be dull?</p><p>DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carnival Ride

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of the song: _Welcome to the Show_ by Britt Nicole.  
>  (this is going to be combined as a one shot when I finish it because I just wanted to be done with it today...)

### Hands up like a rollarcoaster, this love is takin' over. Take us higher, here we go. Welcome to the Show.

"Niall this was an awful idea...Liam, remind me to never listen to him ever again." Harry groaned, holding his stomach in his hands as the car rocked side to side. He'd taken prescription drugs somewhere along the road trip, but it was obvious that they weren't settling his stomach or relieving his massive headache. The sound of crinkling potato crisp bags in the backseat as well as the smell of greasy chips was certainly not helping. He moaned in exaggerated agony, rolling down the window quickly and hovering halfway out of the window, lungs begging for fresh air.

"Harry get back in the car, we're almost there anyway and I will not be making any special stops at the hospital because you've fallen and bashed your head in." Liam said irritably, the whole whining Harry and carefree Niall car ride finally getting to the boy. He sighed, holding the steering wheel with one hand and rubbing the bridge of his nose briefly, eyes trained on the road that was only lit up by occasional streetlamps and the car's headlights. It was nearly 8:00pm already, the sky was loomingly dark and somber, a bit depressing really but the faintest colored lights could be seen over the horizon line.

Niall was first to notice, jumping out of his seat that Liam instantly realized he was never buckled into in the first place and pointing his finger out towards the rainbow-colored lights. "Look guys!" he piped, obviously oblivious to his mate's bickering moments before.

Harry pulled his head back in reluctantly, looking in the direction of Niall's finger and seeing the outline of a significantly huge Ferris wheel and a large tent just a bit a ways from it. He'd forgotten that it wasn't just a carnival they were going to, there was somewhat of a circus there as well. And from what they'd been told, it was particularly good...and the acrobats were good-looking. Slowly he willed himself to smile, feeling better and sighing in content, holding his head in his hand and resting closed his eyes.

And if suddenly Niall had remembered that his friends were bantering before, he spoke up again. "Besides if it sucks we can pick up some girls or at least some decent food!"

Liam couldn't help but chuckle when Harry groaned again.

\\\//

 

Louis was a grinning madman by the time 8:30 rolled around and was literally twirling around in the horse and zebra stables listening to the animals stomp their hooves and snort at him. Sighing contently and collapsing back into an oversized pile of hay, watching as dust was pushing into the air with a puff and relaxing into the odd prickling feeling on his limbs and back, laying his head back.

He wasn't sure how long he was lying there, but next thing he knew Eleanor was throwing a handful of dirt at him from where she stood, towering. Louis sputtered and sat up instantaneously, frantically trying to get the dry mud off him. "El! You can't get this face dirty! We're on in-" he checked the clock that hung loosely, lazily on a peg in the wall, "like twenty minutes!" he finished, determining then that he'd laid in the straw for only ten minutes.

Eleanor rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the taunting smirk off her lips. "Louis, if it was that big of a deal you wouldn't have been lying around a _barn_ of all places!" she accused, laughing faintly as she pulled a long strand of straw from his hair and instead fed it to one of the on-looking mares who accepted the small gift graciously. "Besides, no one's going to be looking at your face as long as you're facing away from them." she teased, looking pointedly down and behind him, having to stand on her toes. 

Louis feigned offense. "Are you saying that the only reason I'm a carnie is because I have an ass?!" he accused, hand going to rest on his chest in mock hurt.

Eleanor rolled her eyes again, not responding this time and settling for shrugging. "You know if you do that enough your eyes will get stuck like that!" Louis called as his friend began walking away from him. She proceeded to put herself in a handstand, staring at Louis upside-down. She grinned.

"Yeah, well....Be in our dressing room in five minutes or you won't have a job anymore." She said, laughing briefly as Louis swatted away a fly that had rested on his elbow but missing. She rolled her eyes once more, walking out of the tent turned makeshift stable on her hands with ease and disappearing under the flap. 

Louis sighed, stroking one of the horse's noses as he followed suit and left the place as well, hoping to catch up with Eleanor before she got back to their dressing room (which was actually more like a tent as well), but the contortionist was no where in his sight when he looked out on the carnival grounds. Sighing and fixing his hair briefly, Louis began his trek cross-carnival towards the largest tent characterized by significantly smaller ones for the performing acts.

\\\//

 

Upon reaching the carnival grounds, Liam parked their car in one of the grassy lots amongst many other cars, turning the ignition and sighing in relief. Harry was the first out of the car, the second Liam had shifted into park he'd tumbled out the door and into the soft, long-wisped grass with a grunt of satisfaction. He inhaled the refreshing scent, thanking God that they'd finally just gotten there.

Niall was grinning as he pushed open his door, shutting it loudly as if pronouncing to the whole carnie population that he'd arrived, the one they were waiting for. He left a mess of anything and everything in the back seat but Liam wasn't up to ruining his mood now by telling him it needed to be picked up and he nor Harry sure as hell weren't going to do it.

Sighing as Liam circled the car to see his two mates with very different moods, smiling faintly. "Well come on, might as well have a look around. Ed said that this place was pretty great, so it can't be awful." he reassured the both of them, Harry rising to his own feet by himself and stretching long arms upwards, listening to the soothing pop of his joints before rolling back his shoulders. 

"Alright then, off we go." Harry said a bit less-than enthusiastically and he and Liam followed slowly after a very mobile Niall who was excited to just be out of the car. Being at the carnival was just adding to it. The three boys finally made their way to the actual fair grounds, seeing booths and games and food stands and rides like any normal carnival and Harry began questioning why they'd come all this way for just some carnival they could've waited for back home.

And then he heard an elephant and he was reminded. People were actually _riding_ elephants. Watching with an expression between confused and impressed, he arched an eyebrow and watched the massive beast walk by calmly, a very thin woman on its back dressed in purple and gold flannel. His interest was piqued, he wasn't going to lie to himself or the boys. But upon realizing Liam and Niall were walking off towards a few stilt walkers, he hurriedly trotted after them.

He almost made it there, if he hadn't nearly run into a slim girl walking on her hands. He stumbled trying to stop before he might knock her over, and for once his feet weren't too clumsy and he didn't even touch the girl as she passed back easily in front of him. He watched her curiously, knowing that it really took skill to be able to support yourself like that...even if the girl looked like she weighed under 90lbs. Sighing and taking a step foreword while still watching her, he felt himself knock into a hard body. The person was caught off guard by the sudden movement and ended up falling over backwards. Harry turned his head, eyes widening in frantic surprise. 

"Oh my god, I'm sorry!" he flustered, mentally slapping himself because _of course_ he'd knock someone over while trying not to knock someone else over. He offered the boy a hand, and the shorter lad finally took it once he realized the situation. 

Upon pulling the bloke to his feet, Harry's eyes were met with tantalizing blue that just stole the words he'd contemplated saying completely, leaving the taller boy mute. He took the short opportunity to look the man over.

He was significantly shorter than Harry himself, but had broader shoulder and was more muscle than endless torso like himself. He was just touched tan, not by some unnatural way but from sun and his hair a brunette that was also sun-streaked with lighter wisps of feathery fringe. High cheekbones and crinkly eyes, and oh, was that a smile?

Harry found he was staring at the boy like an idiot, one of his stupid smiles plaguing his face as he was unashamedly checking the man out. But suddenly the realization dawned upon him and he coughed awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets and flickering his green gaze away to hide the pink tint to his cheeks. "Sorry." he mumbled, for lack of finer words and immediately he felt like an incompetent.

But somehow Harry's awkward behavior didn't phase the beautiful boy- was that wrong? To call a man beautiful...? It sure seemed he should be described more towards pretty than husky...

The shorter lad chuckled to himself, eyes crinkling at the corners and _damn_ did he have nice eyes. "That's alright, mate. We're all a bit clumsy." spoke a higher pitched voice than Harry had been expecting, but looking back down at the lad he decided that it did in fact fit. In fact it was perfect and Harry was internally falling all over himself because who did this guy think he was to just saunter into his head and corrupt his only form of speech?

Harry managed a smile in return, dimples poking through his cheeks. The bloke was clad in a tight fitting, plain white tee that left little to the imagination, an unzipped jumper hanging pointlessly over his shoulders, and loose-fitted grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips, and was that a sliver of skin above the waistband? It wouldn't have been his first choice in what he'd have chosen to wear to a carnival...but hey he wasn't judging, he just felt overdressed in his skinny jeans and indies t-shirt in the boy's presence.

"Been to the carnival before, then?" Blue eyes was suddenly asking, as if they'd been casual friends for a while already. Harry found he really, _really_ admired the boy already. He swallowed and formed words to his best ability, trying to not sound too boring like Liam and Niall made fun of him for.

"Um, no. First time here actually." he said, just hoping he didn't come off dull or lame. He didn't want to be done talking to this stranger and maybe that was a little weird, but whatever. It wasn't often Harry met someone so confident and just...breath-taking.

"Well, it's great. You'll definitely have a good time." the stranger reassured, smiling warmly in a way that just wrenched at Harry's heartstrings.

Blue eyes looked down at his wrist, as if to be looking for the time but he had on no watch and it seemed the lad realized this the same time Harry did. He looked around the place, probably for a clock but it didn't really click in Harry's mind. He was busy defining the boy's profile with green eyes.

"Got the time?" Blue eyes asked and it took a second for Harry to respond before he was pulling his phone out of his pocket so fast he nearly dropped it.

"Uh, Um...8:55?" he said, looking up at the stranger to see now frantic blue eyes.

"Goddamn, El's going to have my head." the boy was saying, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, almost as if contemplating whether he should go or not...and Harry found the notion confusing. Blue eyes groaned irritably (a sound that went straight to Harry's lower abdomen), ruffling his own hair and looking back up at Harry with newfound purpose.  
"Look, I've got to go actually...but make sure to check out the circus acts they've got here, I've heard they're fantastic." the boy said, turning to leave all too quickly for Harry's liking.

"Hey, wait!" Harry called and the boy turned around to face him momentarily.

"I-I never caught a name...?" Harry stated, more of a question than anything he realized.

And then Blue eyes was smirking all too knowingly, a notion that Harry knew was usually no good for him but he just wanted it now. If it was from this stranger he was pretty sure he'd take anything.

"Louis...Tomlinson." the boy said with a nod of introduction.

"I-I'm Harry...Styles, that is." 

"It was nice to see you, Harry." Louis finally said after the two'd been standing there staring at eachother for what seemed like eternity. And maybe Harry imagined it but amongst his mind running _louislouislouislouis_ he noticed a subtle wink from the boy and then Harry was blushing and he didn't even try to stop it.

And he certainly wasn't watching Louis' ass as he disappeared.  
No, that would be unbecoming.

But _damn_.

**Author's Note:**

> not too bad I hope? xx


End file.
